Bill Text: IA HF2076 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act prohibiting employers and employment agencies from seeking the criminal record or criminal history from applicants under certain circumstances and providing penalties.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-23 - Subcommittee: Wheeler, Hunter and Watts. H.J. 142. [HF2076 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-HF2076-Introduced.html

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House File 2076 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  ANDERSON, STAED,
                                     GASKILL, R. SMITH,
                                     ABDUL=SAMAD, WINCKLER,
                                     MEYER, KURTH, H.
                                     MILLER, HUNTER, and
                                     KEARNS

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act prohibiting employers and employment agencies from
  2    seeking the criminal record or criminal history from
  3    applicants under certain circumstances and providing
  4    penalties.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 5567HH (5) 87
    je/rj

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  735.1  Definitions.
  1  2    As used in this chapter:
  1  3    1.  "Criminal record or criminal history" means information
  1  4 collected or possessed by any criminal justice agency or
  1  5 judicial system in this state or in another jurisdiction,
  1  6 including a federal, military, tribal, or foreign jurisdiction,
  1  7 concerning individuals which information includes identifiable
  1  8 descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments,
  1  9 or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising
  1 10 therefrom, including acquittal, deferred judgment, sentencing,
  1 11 correctional supervision, release, or conviction, and any
  1 12 sentence arising from a verdict or plea of guilty or nolo
  1 13 contendere, including a sentence of incarceration, a suspended
  1 14 sentence, a sentence of probation, or a sentence of conditional
  1 15 discharge.
  1 16    2.  "Employer" means a person who in this state employs for
  1 17 wages a natural person. "Employer" includes an agent of an
  1 18 employer.
  1 19    3.  "Employment agency" means a person who, with or without
  1 20 compensation, regularly brings together those desiring to
  1 21 employ and those desiring employment.  "Employment agency"
  1 22 includes an agent of an employment agency.
  1 23    4.  "Interview" includes an interview conducted in person or
  1 24 by telephone or other means of electronic communication.
  1 25    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  735.2  Criminal record or criminal
  1 26 history ==== inquiry or required disclosure prohibited.
  1 27    Unless otherwise specifically required by law, an employer
  1 28 or employment agency shall not inquire about or require
  1 29 disclosure of the criminal record or criminal history of an
  1 30 applicant for employment until after the applicant has been
  1 31 interviewed, but may do so before an offer of employment is
  1 32 made.
  1 33    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  735.3  Penalty ==== injunctive relief.
  1 34    1.  A person who violates section 735.2 commits a scheduled
  1 35 violation under section 805.8C, subsection 12.
  2  1    2.  When a person commits or proposes to commit an act
  2  2 in violation of section 735.2, an injunction may be granted
  2  3 through an action in district court to prohibit the person from
  2  4 continuing such acts. The action for injunctive relief may
  2  5 be brought by an aggrieved person, a county attorney, or the
  2  6 attorney general.
  2  7    Sec. 4.  Section 805.8C, Code 2018, is amended by adding the
  2  8 following new subsection:
  2  9    NEW SUBSECTION.  12.  Criminal record or criminal history
  2 10 violations.  For violations of section 735.2, the scheduled fine
  2 11 is five hundred dollars for a first violation, one thousand
  2 12 dollars for a second violation, and two thousand dollars for a
  2 13 third or subsequent violation.
  2 14                           EXPLANATION
  2 15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 16 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 17    This bill prohibits an employer or employment agency from
  2 18 inquiring about or requiring disclosure of the criminal record
  2 19 or criminal history of an applicant for employment until after
  2 20 the applicant has been interviewed, but permits an employer or
  2 21 employment agency to do so before an offer of employment is
  2 22 made.
  2 23    The penalty for a violation of the bill is a scheduled fine
  2 24 of $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second violation,
  2 25 and $2,000 for a third or subsequent violation. Injunctive
  2 26 relief for violations of the bill may be sought by an aggrieved
  2 27 person, a county attorney, or the attorney general. The fine,
  2 28 court costs, and criminal penalty surcharge assessed under the
  2 29 bill are distributed as provided in Code section 602.8108.
       LSB 5567HH (5) 87
       je/rj